Song of the Harp Seal

Song of the Harp Seal
Type
Piece
Composer
Adrienne Inglis
Composer Nationality
American
Composer Date of Birth
1960
Text
Gillean McDougall
Year Composed
2019
Pages
12
Minutes
3:40
Language
English; Gaelic
Voicing
3 part treble chorus
Instruments
Harp
Sacred or Secular
Secular
Mood
Sparse, distant, minimal; Dramatic, with dynamic contrasts
Description

A tale of climate crisis and plastic pollution, The Song of the Harp Seal (2019) by Adrienne Inglis (ASCAP) was composed especially for Inversion Ensemble: Coda. It sets to music the poem Inglis commissioned by Scottish author and poet Gillean McDougall. For treble chorus and pedal or lever harp, this work tells the true story of a mother harp seal and her pup forced south of their usual Arctic range by the climate crisis. The pup ingests plastic pollution that contributes to her death near the shores of the Isle of Skye. Scottish legend mixes with modern tragedy as mermaids beckon in Gaelic to the harp pup and then speak directly to us.

https://www.facebook.com/inversionensemble/videos/476308476522489/?t=2765/
Group
Inversion Ensemble
Performances
Inversion Ensemble: 2019 August